Saint John of the Cross

St. John of the Cross (or San Juan de la Cruz, 1542-1591) was born Juan de Yepes in Toledo, Spain, the youngest child of poor silk weavers. In prayer, St. John of the Cross was told to serve God through an order whose ancient perfection he was to help revive. He joined a Carmelite monastery in Medina, and followed the Carmelite rule to the strictest letter.

He met St. Theresa of Avila, who had decided to found an order of nuns in Medina, and she persuaded John to help her found a monastery in the primitive Carmelite rule in Valladolid, where he took the name John of the Cross. They were called the Reformed or Discalced (Barefoot) Carmelites. From the beginning he met with great opposition from many leaders, and spent months in prison, where he wrote some of his most beautiful poetry. As opposition grew and illness took hold, John was sent to the monastary of Ubeda, where he was initially treated very harshly. Eventually, however, even his adversaries acknowledged his sanctity. John was beatified in 1625 by Clement X, and canonized in 1726 by Benedict XIII. He was also declared a Doctor of the Church.

Saint John of the Cross, in the darkness of your worst moments, when you were alone and persecuted, you found God. Help me to have faith that God is there especially in the times when God seems absent and far away. Amen

Similarly, the Buddha came to a state of enlightenment through direct experience and faced trials akin to the "Dark Night of the Soul"... Key was separating oneself from Maya, or illusion. There is also considerable physical discomfort assoicated with sitting zazen, the form of meditation used in Zen Buddhism. Rather than having some merit in itself, pain can sometimes clarify the senses. Notably, being truly awake, or clear-sighted is a virtue in both Christianity and Buddhism, as is demonstrating compassion for fellow beings.